BUILDING EFFECTIVE COMPREHENSION SKILLS IS DISCUSSED. FACTORS RELATED TO COMPREHENSION ARE PHYSICAL HEALTH, MENTAL DEVELOPMENT, EXPERIMENTIAL BACKGROUND, WORD RECOGNITION, AND THE PURPOSES OF THE READER. COMPREHENSION SKILLS CAN BE GROUPED INTO THESE AREAS -- READING FOR DETAILS, READING FOR MAIN IDEAS, READING TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN FACT AND OPINION, READING TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS, READING MAPS, CHARTS, AND GRAPHS, READING TO PREDICT OUTCOMES, READING TO FOLLOW THE WRITER'S PLAN AND INTENT, AND READING TO SUMMARIZE AND ORGANIZE. PRINCIPLES FOR THE EFFECTIVE TEACHING OF COMPREHENSION SKILLS AND EVALUATION TECHNIQUES ARE PRESENTED. THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED AT THE INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE (BOSTON, APRIL 24-27, 1968). (BK)